Thursday, September 1, 2011

Once again, Kentucky is loading up for Big Blue Madness

As of today, Kentucky does not have a single commitment for the Class of 2012.

For a program that's had the best recruiting class in the country three years running, that has been a bit of a concern. With John Calipari seemingly having the ability to get any and every recruit that he wants, why are they heading into the 2011-2012 school year without a single player committed to coming to Lexington?

It could be that Cal is still trying to figure out what roles he is going to need filled for 2012-2013. In other words, who is going to be headed for the NBA Draft? It could also be that the Class of 2012 is just simply late in making their commitments. With 20 of the top 25 players in the country still to make their college decision, maybe Cal isn't accepting commitments just yet.

Who knows?


What we do know, however, is that when the commitments start coming, don't be surprised to see Kentucky more than their share. Take a look at the list of players currently heading to Rupp Arena for Big Blue Madness:

2012
- F Shabazz Muhammad (No. 1 in our Consensus Recruiting Rankings)
- G Archie Goodwin (No. 9)
- C DaJuan Coleman (No. 15)
- F Alex Poythress (No. 19)
- F T.J. Warren (No. 23)
- C Willie Cauley (No. 38)

2013
- G Andrew Harrison (likely)
- G Aaron Harrison (likely)
- F Chris Walker

2014
- C Dakari Johnson

We haven't done consensus rankings for 2013 or 2014 just yet, but all four of the players that Calipari is bringing to Big Blue Madness from those classes are consensus top ten players.

"It's shaping up to be arguably the best list of Midnight Madness visitors that I've ever seen," Scout.com recruiting analyst Evan Daniels told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "Anybody that they're recruiting, it appears they're getting in for Midnight Madness."

And once Coach Cal gets these kids to Big Blue Madness, he can get a commitment from just about any player he wants. The place is sold out weeks in advance, Rupp Arena gets rocking, and Big Blue Madness becomes more than just a first practice; its an event that attracts celebrities like Drake and LeBron James.



You don't think that will catch a high school recruit's attention?

The craziest part is Daniels' last quote: "They're not done yet, either. There's a couple names that I'm not allowed to put out there yet, but I've talked to some AAU coaches for guys who want to be there."

Yuh. Ikes.

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